The feared front line of 1950’s Minneapolis Lakers featured, from left, Jim Pollard, George Mikan and Vern Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen, 85, a Basketball Hall of Fame forward who starred for Hamline and the Lakers, died at his home in Wayzata Thursday night, Nov. 21, 2013. (Pioneer Press File)

For an NBA player in the 1950s, securing a rebound against the Minneapolis Lakers frontcourt was a tall order.

Standing in their way were 6-foot-7 power forward Vern Mikkelsen and 6-10 center George Mikan, both NBA champions and members of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“They were the best rebounders for offense and defense,” Lakers coach John Kundla said Friday of those two and 6-4 small forward Jim Pollard. “You couldn’t beat them. They controlled those boards.”

Mikkelsen, who first starred at center for Hamline and then for the Lakers as one of the first “power” forwards, died Thursday night at his home in Wayzata. He was 85.

“He passed away peacefully,” Mikkelsen’s son John said Friday. “He was a prostate cancer survivor of 11 years, then the cancer started moving three, four months ago.

“He lived a full life right to the end. There’s no tragedy here, but a lot of joy. He was my best friend.”

Kundla, 97, called Mikkelsen “a wonderful person,” the son of a minister and a “fundamentally sound basketball player” from his days at the St. Paul university.

“Never criticized him or corrected him on anything,” Kundla said. “What a loss.”

Mikkelsen became a six-time NBA all-star, averaging 14.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in a 10-year career from 1949 to 1959.

Mikkelsen transitioned from a “pivot-man center” at Hamline, Kundla said.

“He made a nice adjustment to forward and added a nice overhand shot, so he could either pass to Mikan or take the shot,” Kundla said. “An all-around ballplayer.”

In the same 1995 induction class, Kundla, Mikkelsen and another great Lakers big man, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, became members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

“We went into the Hall of Fame together; that alone was something to remember,” said Kundla, who resides in a Minneapolis nursing home.

The Timberwolves planned to have a moment of silence for Mikkelsen before Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.

“The Minnesota Timberwolves organization is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Minneapolis Laker and NBA Hall of Famer Vern Mikkelsen,” the team said in a statement issued Friday. “Vern was a dominant force on the court and one of the game’s great power forwards. Vern was a great friend to our organization, and we offer our condolences to his family.”

Arild Verner Agerskov Mikkelsen was born in Fresno, Calif., on Oct. 21, 1928, but was raised and attended high school in Askov, Minn.

From 1945 through 1949, he played at Hamline, where his white No. 13 jersey still hangs inside Hutton Arena.

Mikkelsen was a territorial draft selection by the Lakers in 1949 and played all 10 of his NBA seasons with Minneapolis.

Later, he served as a general manager and coach of the Minneapolis Pipers of the American Basketball Association. He coached for 12 games in 1968-69, finishing with a 6-6 record.

Mikkelsen, a four-time NBA champion, scored more than 10,000 points, grabbed about 5,900 rebounds and had 2,800 fouls — or four per game.

Terry Kunze, a guard for the Minnesota Gophers and for the ABA’s Minnesota Muskies, looked up to Mikkelsen during his high school days at Duluth Central.

“He was a blue-collar guy, a banger,” Kunze said. “He was a very good role player, a good scorer.”

Kunze, a 25-year season-ticket holder with the Timberwolves, said Mikkelsen’s career scoring average of 14 is equivalent to a 20-point scorer in today’s NBA.

“He was a good inside-outside combination, not super quick, but strong,” said Kunze, 70, who lives in Fridley.

Kunze and Mikkelsen played in scrimmages during Kunze’s time with the Gophers. Off the court, Kunze said Mikkelsen was classy.

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